Cold winter mornings are no fun. You have to leave a blissful slumber and a warm bed to face the world. The weather is either bitter cold, snowy sleet or all three. What's going to keep you from crawling back under the covers?
A nice hot bowl of oatmeal.
It's no wonder that next month, January is designated oatmeal month. We'll be needing this age old breakfast staple until the spring thaw. It's not only beneficial but also a balm to comfort us on these meat locker cold mornings. Rolled oats are a good way to start a day. They perfect for those on a diet as well as being good for arthritis. It has complex carbohydrates as well as much needed fiber to keep us all happy and healthy. It's much less greasier than eggs and bacon and not full of calories like French toast or pancakes.
Oatmeal has been a staple of Scottish cooking from the time of the Celts. It's used not just for breakfast but for desserts (oatmeal cookies came about in the 1800's) and used as thickener for soups and stews. There are the uncut hulled oats, or groats which takes five minutes to cook and the cut ones which take only a minute. You can use the e cut ones in baking and thickening. The Scots also use it for their blood puddings and as poultry stuffing. it can also be cooked with butter and cream to create a type of porridge called brose. In the US, we see it on any thing healthy from granola bars to all natural cookies.
During these mornings, treat yourself to a hearty and healthy bowl of oatmeal. You'll be able to face that sleeting rain and crabby boss feeling fortified and full.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
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